Girl and Timekeeper
by MovieVillain
Summary: Timekeeper Raymond Leon gets his second chance in life when the DES resurrected him. No longer fighting for time, he now fights for the entertainment ban, but for a good reason. Hired by Mr. Sono to bring back Chieri, his investigation starts. Took place in AKB0048 season 1.
1. Death

"Stop!"

Timekeeper Raymond Leon has cornered fugitives Will Salas and Sylvia Weis with his gun pointed at their direction. He has been chasing them for stealing time and distributing it to the poor population of Dayton. With this, they're trying to take down the system, something he won't just tolerate of them doing.

"You can run," he commented after wiping sweat from his forehead.

"So can you," Will replied back before saying adding detail. "You're from here, aren't you?"

He's referring to the ghetto.

"Long time ago," the Timekeeper replied.

"Yeah," Will added.

"I worked out how to escape."

Will and Raymond are not so different from one another. They are two people that lived in the ghetto and learned how to escape. They are also different; Will steals time to give to the ghetto, while Raymond becomes a Timekeeper to stop time from being stolen.

"And now you make sure no one else does," the fugitive realized.

"It's the way it has to be. I didn't start the clock. I can't turn it back. I keep it running. I keep time," the cop explained his reason.

"You keep time," Will added. "I'm gonna need some of that time you borrowed from me. Unless you want us to die on the way to our execution."

As soon as he showed his timer on his left arm, which shows he only has one hour and twenty-seven minutes to live, Raymond started to realize something. He should have got his per diem before he left his station, but he ignored this as soon as he saw the fugitive couple at sight. He should have got it from the Timekeeper car he stole from one of his men, but he didn't.

"Time..."

He looked at his left arm to see he only has five seconds; five seconds left to live. The Timekeeper realized his fatal mistake as he turned to face the couple.

He has lost the game.

With five seconds up, he times out as his life fades away in existence, dropping his gun and himself down to the ground. As Will and Sylvia stole his per diem and left the ghetto, two soldiers with heavy green armor arrive near his dead body.

"Sir, what should we do now?" one contacted his superior.

"Bring him in. It's time to test out our resurrection experiment with him," was the reply.

"Got it."

Next, Raymond's corpse is being placed in a body bag and taken away by the soldiers that are called Destroy Entertainment Soldiers.


	2. Resurrection

In the DES main base, Raymond is being experimented to see if their experiment would work. He is being placed inside a big tube with liquid on it and he is only wearing his briefs.

"Doctor, how's the experiment coming along?" the commander asked.

"It's doing fine, commander," the scientist responsible for the experiment replied. "He needs some adjustments before I revive him."

"Like what?"

"Like he doesn't need a timer on his left arm anymore."

With those words, he started to do something with his subject in order to remove the timer on his left arm.

"Good thing his aging gene has been turned off. He is now immortal," he explained. "Now, for the finale..."

The scientist then pulls a switch on his tube which caused electrocution. After a matter of seconds, Raymond's eyes have been opened as the tube is destroyed. The two members of the DES looked to see him living.

He is back to the land of the living. Their experiment worked.

"My experiment worked! He's alive again!" the doctor exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I'm alive again, but where am I?" Raymond looked at his own body.

"You're in the DES base," the commander approached him.

"DES? As in Destroy Entertainment Soldiers?"

"Yes, that kind of DES. We were about to recruit you, but you died from time out when you cornered Will Salas and his girlfriend, Sylvia Weis, on your pursuit. Good thing we bought you here and resurrected you."

"Oh... I see. Thank you," Raymond is relief to be alive again.

"My experiment resurrected you, Raymond. Along with that, we removed your timer. Look at your left arm," the doctor explained.

"Oh..." the resurrected official realized. "That means I'm immortal, right?"

"Yes, you are," was the confirmation.

"I see... Why was it you revived me?"

"Because you have a new mission now. You don't fight for time anymore. You will fight for something, and that is to prevent that someone from repeating that tragedy that caused the disappearance of Atsuko Maeda, also known as Acchan," the DES commander replied.

Upon hearing those words, Raymond recalled the events of how he adored this purple-haired girl. Just as she graduated, she got into the position of Center Nova and disappeared. This is the reason for him to become a Timekeeper.

Realizing what he was resurrected for, he accepted his new mission.

"Commander, I accept your proposal," he grabs the DES commander's hand as a sign of agreement.

"Good. From now on, you will lead your own unit working under us, therefore the Timekeepers will work for the DES. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Looks like this is the beginning of a new alliance.


	3. Investigation

Ever since the alliance, Raymond Leon has set up a Timekeeper station in the planet known as Akibastar. He made a request to the DES scientist to remove the timers on all of his men, including Jaeger and Kors, and his request has been accepted. Now he is not the only immortal Timekeeper, but also his men. Also, their outfits remain the same when they are living, including the black leather trench coat.

He hasn't got a case yet until the disappearance of Chieri Sono on the planet of Sagittariusstar. Arriving at the Sono family mansion, his case went for a start.

"So your daughter, who is the heiress of your company, disappeared?" he asked when he went inside the place with Jaeger and Korrs.

"That's what happened, Mr..." Mr. Sono replied.

"Leon. Raymond Leon. I'm Timekeeper Raymond Leon," the Timekeeper approached him. "Do you mind if we took a seat?"

"No, I don't."

They went to sit down on the sofa.

"Now, do you have any idea why would she turn up missing?" Raymond pulls out a notebook and pen to write down things.

"I think it's because she wanted to join AKB0048, but I forbid her to do so because it's a group of terrorism," the CEO answered.

"I think that must be it," the official thought of the same thing.

"You will find her for me, wouldn't you?"

"I will, Mr. Sono."

"You won't tell anyone that she ran away to join AKB, would you?"

"No, of course not."

As soon as he goes outside the mansion, he and his Timekeepers are being surrounded by a lot of reporters.

"Timekeeper Leon, are you in charge of the investigation of trying to find Chieri Sono?" one reporter asked.

"Yes, I am. After all, I lead the Timekeepers," was the reply.

"Do you have any idea of why she is missing or kidnapped?" another asked.

"No, I don't think so," was the reply.

"Is her father given a ransom note?" another one asked.

"I don't think so, but we won't know until there is one," was the reply. "That's all the questions I needed, ladies and gentlemen."

Raymond tried to avoid the reporters and went on his car with him on the backseat and Jaeger and Kors on the front seats.

"Remind me to never invite too much reporters if I were to be questioned," he stated with his usual stoic expression.

"I'll keep that in mind for you, Raymond," Jaeger said in agreement.

"Me, too," Kors added.

"Any leads I need to look into? It's obvious there is no sign of forced leaving and no evidences, except her diary. In fact, I think the answers will be found in her writings," their leader added.

After a drive to the ship would take him back to Akibastar, a Timekeeper arrived as soon as they got out of the black car.

"Sir..." he approached Raymond.

"What is it?" the latter asked.

"The DES wanted you to investigate the ship they were on for girls attempting to join 00. They said it would provide you clues to where Chieri is."

"Good. Let's get going."

* * *

After getting on a black ship, the Timekeepers direct it on the ship the girls were on when they wanted to join the idol group. An investigation is on foot with them and the DES. One of the Timekeepers are seen taking pictures on the damage.

"Looks like the DES was on the ship to take in girls who were trying to join AKB0048," Raymond deduced as his team went to the lobby.

"Sir, here is a DES soldier who has a lead for you," Kors said as he introduced him to a DES soldier.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was in pursuit with the girls who wanted to join 00, and I got to a dark pink-haired girl wearing a school uniform and green ribbon. Suddenly, I was knocked down by someone so I couldn't tell who. Luckily, I saw it was the heiress who was missing from her home planet," the witness interrogated.

"Any idea who is she in contact with?" Raymond asked.

"She said her name was Nagisa," was the reply.

After the reply, the Timekeeper looked from above to see a camera.

"Are the cameras capturing what happened?" Raymond asked with curiosity.

"Yes, I think they are," was the reply.

"Get me to the camera room. I need to see what you saw."

He, along with Jaeger and another Timekeeper since Kors is busy looking for other clues, directs the soldier to the control room.

"Now, tell me what section of the ship where you tried to take in that girl with pink hair," he demanded.

The DES soldier looked at the monitors and pointed on the right one.

"Right there, sir," he said.

Raymond rewinds the tape to see what had happened. He saw the soldier confronting Nagisa as he got took down by a mysterious kid whose hat fell off, revealing it is really Chieri, and Nagisa got her reunion with her, only...

"I see... Judging with her pointing the butt of that gun to her, it is an unhappy reunion," he understood.

"What happened between them? Did they have a falling out or something?" Jaeger asked.

"That's the mystery we're going to find out before bringing her back to her father."

"Do you know about Chieri Sono?" the DES soldier asked.

"No, but I do know about her brother. Speaking of that, their father hired me to bring her back to him," Raymond turned to him and replied. "That girl she talked with... who is she?"

The DES soldier pressed the buttons to look on the person with pink hair. It is revealed her name is Nagisa Motomiya.

"Nagisa Motomiya, huh? And she is from Lancastar," Raymond reads the description. "I think I need to question this girl."

* * *

 **Author's Note** : The chapter took place in AKB0048 episode 3.


	4. Questions and Answers

It's been a day since the girls moved to Akibastar where they will practice dancing after practicing their fighting skills. They are enjoying themselves in the river bank singing a song by the sunset. All except Chieri is there as she is by herself in a train station. What she doesn't know is that Raymond is following her. He may have plans to bring her back to her father, but that will have to wait.

In fact, he has a reason to investigate her to find out why she has that cold expression on her face and trying to distance herself from someone like Nagisa.

It reminded him of himself.

As soon as the girls are done singing, Jaeger and Kors arrive to them.

"Um, who are you guys?" Yuka asked with suspicion.

"I'm Timekeeper Jaeger," the former introduced himself to them before introducing the other Timekeeper with him. "This is Timekeeper Kors."

"Hello," Kors greeted.

"Hello," the girls greeted back.

"We're here because Nagisa is to be bought in for questioning."

"Questioning?!"

"Oh my! Is she in trouble?" Makoto asked with fear.

"No, not at all, dear. Our leader wants to talk to her, that's all," Jaeger said with assurance.

"What is it he wants to talk to me for?" Nagisa asked as she approached him and Kors.

"It's about Chieri."

* * *

Nagisa is sent to a Timekeeper station at Akibastar for questioning, and it is about Chieri. When she thought about her, she is being cold and distant upon being reunited with her, unlike her personality from four years ago where she was being nice. She is sitting on a chair that is near the desk of the leader of the Timekeepers, and she is on his office.

In fact, Raymond is on his desk with two Timekeepers accompanying him. Since it's his office they're on, he is not wearing his black leather trenchcoat and Jaeger and Kors are also not wearing their coats.

As soon as he saw her at first sight...

"Acchan?" he said to Nagisa with surprise as his vision of her is being replaced by a girl with purple hair due to the resemblance.

"Huh?" the dark pink-haired girl asked with confusion.

"Oh, it's nothing. Sorry."

"What is it?"

"I mistook you for Atsuko Maeda. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm Timekeeper Raymond Leon," the Timekeeper started with his hands together on his desk and clearing his throat. He is calming himself down from noticing Nagisa looked like Acchan.

"I'm Nagisa Motomiya," the dark pink-haired girl introduced herself.

"I know. Let's get started, shall we?"

"Okay."

"Just what time did you arrive on the airport which you think will take you to AKB0048 before the DES attacked? Try to remember exactly, Nagisa. Every detail can be important."

"It must have been about..."

Nagisa paused for a short while as she took a deep breath and keeping her hands on her legs as if she is nervous being questioned by the police.

"6:40. Yeah, that's it, 6:40. I remember exactly because I looked at my watch when I arrived with Yuka and Orine there," she answered.

"What was Chieri wearing when you saw her again?" Raymond asked next.

"She was wearing a coat... a blue coat," the girl remembered the other girl's outfit when they were reunited. "And a pair of pants... brown pants."

As she answered, Raymond remembered the footage he saw at the airport with the two girls. The description matched.

"How could Chieri turned out missing or kidnapped when you saw her again? Weren't you with her this whole time?" Kors asked with a chuckle.

"No, I wasn't with her the whole time because we lived in different planets and we've been apart for four years ever since we saw 00 performing a concert on Lancastar," Nagisa answered.

"You said you saw Chieri on that ship when the DES attacked, but you didn't report about her to us. Why did it took you so long to call the police?" Jaeger asked while looking at his notepad.

"I searched the whole ship for her. I thought she couldn't have gone far."

"Did Chieri have any difficulties, Nagisa? Anything that might have caused her to be missing or kidnapped? But we can rule those two rule out since she ran away from her home planet to join 00," Raymond asked.

"Chieri is a sensitive girl. She must have some difficulties getting along with the other girls," Nagisa replied the truth.

"Everything OK with her so far? Any particular problems between you and her?" the Timekeeper continued.

"Chieri is being mean when we were reunited and that she is trying to keep herself distant from me," she told the truth, but she feels like she is tattling her to the authorities, especially the Timekeeper who is hired to search for her. "But I don't think she's being malicious about it, if that's what you're thinking."

They paused for a while as the leader of the Timekeepers finished his questions with her.

"All right. That's all the questions I have for now. You're free to go, Nagisa. We'll continue to investigate Chieri to find out what caused her cold personality. We'll contact you if we have any questions," Raymond stands up from his desk and pulls out his cellphone before getting Nagisa's to get her number and vice versa. Then he attempted to walk on the ground floor.

"Do... Do you think Chieri is being like that because it's more than what she thinks of 00...?" Nagisa questioned as she stands up from the chair.

"Listen, kid," Raymond turned to her and said in a dismissive manner. "She is just like that because she hasn't seen you for four years, so I think there's a chance she might turn back to the way she was from four years ago in a matter of days."

"But what if it's more than what she thinks of 00?"

"Then we'll investigate it."

Raymond walked to the ground floor of the building and Nagisa did the same to leave the station. As soon as she left the station, he approached her from behind while putting on his coat.

"Um, would you like me to take you to your living quarters?" he wanted to give her a ride.

"Yes, thank you," she agreed.

They got on Raymond's black car as he drives her back to her dormitory.

"Will you not tell Chieri about this conversation we had?" Raymond asked her after dropping her off to the front of the dormitory.

"I promise I won't tell," Nagisa promised with a smile on her face as she got out of the car.

"Good. Have a good night."

Raymond then drives away from the place.

"Have a good night to you, too," Nagisa added.

Looks like he got a lead for him to use in his investigation.


	5. Face-to-Face

Raymond Leon feels restless as he is seen in his office looking for at the pictures of Chieri from the other day. In fact, he sent Mikako Minamino, the 5th Minami Minegishi, to take pictures of her. Also, he is aware of her employment under Mr. Sono. He thought about the meeting in mind.

 _"You want me to take pictures of Chieri?" the green-haired girl asked as she is meeting him by the river bank._

 _"Yup. Just to see catching a cookie from jar without permission," was his reply. "I need it for my case."  
_

 _"I see..."_

 _"Just so you know, I'm planning to solve a case about her before I bring her back to her father."_

Back to reality, he continued to look at the pictures and he can tell Nagisa is trying hard to reconnect their childhood friendship.

If only he could find a lead to solve the case of why the light blue-haired girl is giving such cold shoulders...

Just then, Jaeger comes to his office.

"What is it, Jaeger?" Raymond asked.

"Raymond, a girl named Orine Aida came here to see you," was his reply. "It's about her having a hater."

They go down to the lobby to question her about her hater. Ever since she got a hate mail from him, she feels tormented. Upon learning of the Timekeepers in Akibastar, she decided to go there to file a report about him.

"Okay, can you describe your hater?" Raymond asked with a notebook on his hand to write down the details while his partner makes a composite sketch with the use of a computer.

"I couldn't see his entire face because he is wearing a mask," the light pink-haired girl started as she took her seat by the desk.

"What mask is it?"

"A top-half mask. It's all black, but the eyeholes are golden."

"Keep going," Kors come with two cups of coffee to Raymond and Jaeger.

"He has tussled brown hair and blue eyes," Orine continued. "He wears a purple shirt and jeans, if I'm not mistaken."

"Like this?" Jaeger shows her the sketch and she screamed at sight of it.

"That's him! That's him!" she exclaimed with confirmation of her fear.

"I see..." Raymond understood the character she described. "I recognized him. One time, he came to the station just to steal bombs which are locked away in the evidence room."

"Oh... He planned to use it on the handshake event if I don't quit 00."

"Anything else that can help us find your hater? I mean, if he is not a fan of yours, then who is he a fan of?"

Orine thought back on her mail, and then she has her answer.

"I saw Sashiko posters all over his room when I looked at my mail, so I think he is a Sashiko fan," she replied.

"A Sashiko fan, huh? Interesting," Raymond said with fascination before he tries to reassure her. "Don't worry, Orine. For your safety by tomorrow, I'll send Timekeepers in and out of the stadium so he won't get you for the handshake event."

"Thank you, officers," Orine cried happily before standing up from her seat. "With you guys there, everyone will be safe there."

Just as she is about to leave...

"Orine," Raymond called for her in a strict tone. "Do you know Chieri?"

With this information being passed on to her, the pink-haired girl looked surprised as she realized he is trying to investigate her, mostly to find out what caused her to be cold and distant from others.

"So you do know about her. Mind if I ask you a few of questions about her?"

The girl responded by going back to her seat. Of course, Raymond also took a seat.

"Do you know her well?" Raymond started.

"We met four years ago in Lancastar. She was the one who introduced me, along with Nagisa and Yuka, to AKB0048 while we were at the mines of the planet," Orine responded.

"Can you tell me anything about that girl who went from cute little girl to a bitter person who sees everyone auditioning as rivals?"

"I don't know what to say. I don't know why she is being like that."

"She did something bad to you, didn't she?" Raymond asked next. "I can tell when you entered my station. What is it?"

"She scolded me for messing up in practice because of having a hate mail," Orine replied in sadness.

"Did you know whether she has any enemies? Anybody that might want to kill her?"

"What makes you say that?"

"I think she's just like that because she is trying to protect you from somebody. Did she have any enemies?"

"She is just normal. I don't see anyone wanting to kill her."

"When she came to that ship when the DES attacked, was she alone?"

"Well, besides her Kirara, she came alone. One time, she tried to sleep in the lobby while we were auditioning for 00 because we were complaining about how we have to fight. She's been like that ever since we came to Akibastar," Orine started to cry, so Raymond has decided to comfort her.

"Before we continue, do you want to have a drink of chocolate milk?" the Timekeeper offered her a drink of chocolate milk.

"Oh, thank you," the girl accepted the drink and starts drinking it up to finish before continuing on.

"Anyway, try to be strong. She scolded you because of that weakness. I know it made you cry, but can you help me discover why Chieri is being mean?"

"I was tormented by the mail I got from a hater. I couldn't concentrate, so I fell. Chieri scolded me for this, and I ran off crying."

"What happened next?"

"Takamina came to comfort me in the restroom and she told me haters are a part of AKB idols to have because while they are scary, they can be nice."

"Did you happened to notice anything strange about Chieri before your reunion with her four years from now?" Raymond asked.

"No," Orine answered before realizing something. "Wait, yes. I remembered something. When she came to Akibastar, she didn't come playing with me, Nagisa, and Yuka by the river. Must be because she is proper and that she can't afford to get her clothes all wet. Suddenly, she came to us to play in the river."

"I see... Thank you for your cooperation, Orine. I can assure you we will find out why Chieri has that cold attitude and find a way to put an end to it. You can go now."

With these words, the pink-haired girl stands up from her seat and leaves the station.

As Raymond saw her leave...

"It's about time I meet Chieri face-to-face."

* * *

The next day, the handshake event with AKB0048 is taking place in a stadium. Raymond arrived there via his Timekeeper car and walked to the place. Then, he pulls out a cellphone.

"Mr. Sono..." he called.

"Raymond..." the voice spoke.

"How many DES soldiers you sent to come here?"

"I sent several drones and transport ships there."

"Good. I'll call them to attack when the right time comes."

As soon as he went to the front entrance, he greets two Timekeepers.

"Any sign of that hater yet?" he asked with his stoic expression.

"No, not yet," one replied. "But we found his bombs."

"Bring it back to the evidence room at the station," Raymond said before entering the place. He spotted Mikako. "You found something interesting?"

"Well, there's this woman and her child going to a booth where Orine is. She said her daughter is a fan of hers. It was a good handshake, and I took pictures of it," the green-haired woman said with a smile.

"I see... You should try to take pictures of everything going on. I don't want anything to miss."

"As you wish," Mikako said as she reveals her camera.

The Timekeeper leader approached the booths. He approached the booth where Chieri is. In the command room, Tsubasa Katagiri looked at the image of him and she looks surprised.

"Is that... Raymond?" she asked.

Meanwhile...

"Chieri Sono! Cute little girl turned evil 00 trainee," Raymond started greeting the girl whom he is supposed to bring back to the Zodiac CEO with a cold expression.

"Have we met?" the light blue-haired girl asked coldly as they shake hands. She looks insulted when he called her evil because of her coldness towards others.

Two cold persons finally meeting face-to-face. It's as if they were looking in a mirror. They have their similarities, but they are also opposites.

Although it looked like Chieri is the evil one while Raymond is the good one, that is only on the outside. On the inside, it's the opposite.

She comes face-to-face with her evil counterpart and true enemy.

"Leon. Raymond Leon. I'm the leader of the Timekeepers, a special police, here in Akibastar," Raymond started introducing himself. "I can tell at first sight you and I are the same."

"Really?" Chieri asked with skepticism.

Suddenly, she started to feel pain as she feels her hand is being squeezed tight by the Timekeeper. He smirked at this as the Lancastar trio is seeing this with surprise. Sonata and Suzuko, the girls who are with Chieri, are also seeing this with the same expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Chieri. Was I squeezing too tightly? Must be because I'm too excited to see you," Raymond slyly lets go of her hand as she tries to recover it from the damage he did. "May I please have a drink of water?"

The blue-haired girl gives him bottle water with a straw and he took a sip. Then, he suddenly throws the liquid to her, making her wet.

"Hey!" she exclaimed on what he just did.

"Sorry, it just slipped," Raymond added while he puts the bottle back to the table. "Anyway, I'll be going now. Be sure you know how to run."

The Lancastar trio is surprised on what he did to Chieri as he walked away.

"Did you see what he just did?" Yuka asked.

"I saw it," Nagisa replied.

"Me, too," Orine added.

"I like it," the blonde girl smiled at this.

"What?" her two friends are surprised to hear her say this.

"I think he is getting even with her for us for the times she's being mean to us, so I think what he did to her is satisfying," Yuka explained.

On the other side of their booth...

"Meanyface has a hater! Meanyface has a hater!" Sonata taunted the humiliated girl while Suzuko looked on with surprise.

"I've never been so humiliated in all my life!" Chieri felt angry at what that Timekeeper did to her.

Raymond walked to see Jaeger and Kors waiting for him.

"Genius, sir. That's genius," Jaeger complimented on his move towards Chieri.

"Any sign of that hater?" their leader asked.

"No, not yet," Kors replied.

"What now, sir?" Jaeger asked on their next move.

"We wait. For now, let's keep an eye on the booths," was the reply.

They keep their guard in the place, while the other Timekeepers are outside to keep guard.

Just then, two people approached the leader.

"What's going on?" a woman asked.

"I sent my men in and out of the stadium because a member of AKB0048 has a hater. This hater of hers is just a young kid, so this would be an easy job. I got to thank her for giving me the descriptions," Raymond responded.

"Is that so?" a man wondered.

"This hater plans to blow up the stadium if she ever showed up, but that plan has been foiled. All I need is that guy to be under arrest for harassing a 00 member. Besides, I'm a law officer, and the law must be followed," the Timekeeper added. "Oh, why am I talking to you civilians about this? Just leave, and do whatever you want except breaking the law."

"The law is not something to be always followed of."

"Says who?"

As soon as Raymond turns to the people he is talking too, his facial expressions from stoic to surprise.

"Wha... You!" he recognized them as Will and Sylvia.

"Raymond?" the two recognized him and they look surprised.

"What are you two doing here?" Raymond has his expression back to stoic.

"What are YOU doing here?" Will asked back.

"More importantly, how did you come back from the dead? We saw you died from time out," Sylvia demanded.

"I died from time out, no thanks to you two wouldn't give a few seconds to spare. Anyway, that doesn't matter. I'm back, and that's all matters. You can thank the DES for bringing me back from the dead. On the top of that..." his archenemy responded before revealing something on his left arm. "They removed the timer from my left arm with my aging gene still turned off. Thanks to that, I'm completely immortal."

The couple are surprised when they noticed this coming from him.

"So what happened after I timed out?" he asked with curiosity.

"We managed to take down the system with our contribution of time to the population of Dayton, and because this of this, they transferred to New Greenwich," Will replied to his pursuer. "Oh, and Sylvia and I got a lot of time in our hands."

"Yes, look at our clocks," his love interest said with agreement before the two showed their clocks to the Timekeeper.

Their respective left arms foretold their time of having ten years worth of time; they have ten years to live.

"I see... It looks like I'll be chasing you two for ten years of your lives for the crime you committed, but for now, I'll let you off," Raymond stated. "I got bigger fish to fry."

He leaves the two afterwards.

Just as Orine said her farewell to the last person she shook hands with, she saw her hater, terrifying her.

"It's you!" Yuka exclaimed with anger at seeing him.

"I told you not to come!" the hater approached Orine with an angry expression.

"How did he get in here?" Raymond went for his radio. "Weren't you guarding outside?"

"About that, sir," the voice on the other end respond. "He went for the secret passage that we weren't familiar of."

The leader switched the frequency of the radio in order to talk to the DES soldiers.

"Wait until I said to attack," he said before putting his device down.

Just as the hater went for Orine, Chieri moves in front of him to protect her.

"Chieri!" the pink girl exclaimed.

"What are you going?" the hater demanded.

"Nice to meet you," the blue girl greeted him in a nice way. "I'm 77th Generation trainee, Chieri Sono. Thank you for coming today. It's really nice to-"

Raymond went for his radio.

"Now!" he gave the order.

Suddenly, the ground is shaking, causing the lights to turn off and the alarm went off.

"Don't tell me you actually-," Yuka said in a demanding tone of voice.

"It wasn't me!" Orine's hater denied of what he just did and he looked afraid.

"You won't get away with this!" Makoto yelled.

"Get him!" Sonata also yelled.

Just as they run after him, Orine went in front to stop them.

"Wait!"

"What?" Makoto asked of why is she stopping her and Sonata.

"Let's not catch him or do anything like that!" Orine stated her reason.

"Don't you care what happens to the handshake event?" Yuka contradicted. "He needs to pay for doing something so horrible to you!"

"But..."

"You don't have to get your hands dirty like that, Yuka," Raymond arrived to the girls. "I sent my Timekeepers to look for him and capture him."

He went for his police radio.

"Timekeepers, be on a lookout for a boy with a black and gold mask, and purple shirt. Apprehend him when you saw him."

"Got it, sir," the voice agreed before he puts it down.

Suddenly, another shaking occurred.

Nagisa heard her earpiece alarm so she puts it on her left ear.

"They're here. It's the DES!" Tsubasa spoke.

"DES?" the dark pink-haired girl asked.

"We spotted several DES drones and transport ships in the air," Tsubasa added through her command center. "There's a strong possibility they're carrying paratroops. Successors, ensure the fans' safety. Trainees, ambush them. Give them everything you have."

"What?! You want us to fight them by ourselves?!" Nagisa asked with surprise. She never thought of it.

"Don't worry, Nagisa. I'm here to keep you safe," Raymond said with reassurance as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

They heard a scream and it's coming from the girl who is Orine's fan.

"That girl!" Orine exclaimed with concern.

"Go get her," Raymond suggested and she runs to the source.

"Orine!" Nagisa called for her friend out of concern.

"Timekeepers, keep her safe," the Timekeeper went for his radio again before putting it down.

"Heads up, girls! Let's go!" Kanata said as she threw micsabers for each girl to grab.

"What about you?" Nagisa asked the Timekeeper leader.

"Don't worry about me, Nagisa. I have my gun ready," the latter said with reassurance as he pulls out a Glock 17 from the holster located on his right thigh.

The DES transport ship sends a number of DES paratroops lands in the stadium with their guns ready.

"Come on, everyone. Let's protect our fans," Kanata ordered.

"Roger!" the girls agreed.

As they run with Raymond following Nagisa...

"Draw them outside the venue, okay?" Kanata added.

"Got it!" Nagisa agreed.

The girls split up with Raymond following Nagisa to help her deal with the mess. She has no clue he sent the DES to attack the event in order to get Chieri to incriminate herself. He does what he has to do to gain Nagisa's trust.

"Look out!" Raymond exclaimed as a DES soldier is about to attack her. He defends her by pointing his gun, Glock 17, at the soldier and starts shooting him, which stunned him.

Noticing the moment, she slashes him with her weapon to knock him down.

"Thanks for that, Mr. Leon," she said with a smile on her face.

"You call call me Raymond if you want to," he smiled in return.

"Stop you!" another DES soldier attempted to make an attack as he starts shooting at the two with his large gun. Nagisa and Raymond run, and the latter makes his shots. The latter puts his gun back at the holster and pulls out a lightsaber from his coat. He dodges their shots and attacked him with a non-lethal blue blade like the micsabers to knock him down.

"That's amazing, Raymond," Nagisa complimented.

"Thank you for the compliment. Let's continue the fight, shall we?" Raymond said before they went on a back-to-back formation.

"Yeah, we should."

* * *

The result of the fight is that WOTA helped AKB fight against the DES. They are dedicated fans of the idol group, so this is their reason to help them against the DES. Orine got to talk some sense into her hater, remembering Takamina's words to her. Eventually, the DES fled the stadium.

In the afternoon while Orine got smile from Nagisa and Yuka for her courage in dealing with her hater, Chieri surveys the giant DES machine she took down.

"I knew it. These machines..." she said with anger on her facial expression and voice.

Unbeknownst to her, Raymond has caught her of what she is doing. His plan to have the DES attack the stadium really did pay off after all. Having found a clue that he needed to solve the mystery of her cold attitude, he reached for his cellphone to call Nagisa.

"Nagisa, this is Raymond. Meet me at the stadium tonight. There's something I must tell you about Chieri. Come alone."


	6. Crime Scene

Tonight, Raymond is seen loitering in the stadium, waiting for Nagisa to arrive. He and his Timekeepers have set up an investigation in the crime scene to solve the mystery of Chieri before he would attempt to bring her back to her father, the very person who hired him for the job. As he saw Nagisa arrive, she is still wearing her school uniform when they crossed paths again. Not only that, but also he noticed Yuka and Orine are with her.

"Why are they here?" he asked Nagisa, and he is talking about Yuka and Orine. "I told you to come alone."

"Well, about that..." the dark pink-haired girl replied while blushing. "I tried to get them to leave them alone, but..."

"We decided to tag along because we wanted to know why Chieri is being mean," Yuka explained.

"Yeah, that's right, and since you're the cop who is trying to investigating her for this reason, we can solve the matter together if Yuka and I come along, too," Orine also explained.

Raymond crossed his arms in order to think if he should let Yuka and Orine come along as well. After a few seconds...

"Fine, you two can come along, too," he made his reply. "You're not going to tell Chieri about our meeting, are you?"

"Since Chieri won't tell us about the reason she is being mean to us, we won't tell her about it," Yuka stated her reply.

"Yeah, count on me, too," Orine added.

"Let's get started then," Raymond said.

He directed the girls to the crime scene. The Lancastar trio looked to see the Timekeepers are doing their jobs to investigate the case like taking pictures of the damage done by the DES and searching for clues. Among the parts of the crime scene he showed them, Raymond directed them to the giant DES machine that Chieri took down.

"You know, girls," Raymond started.

"Huh?" the trio asked him.

"I was investigating Chieri to find out about her cold personality and look where the investigation leads me to," he is talking about the machine. "In fact, there's something I must tell you about her and this will surprise you."

"What is it?" Nagisa questioned.

"I saw Chieri surveying this giant DES machine she took down. She said, 'I knew it. These machines...'" was the reply.

The trio look surprised when Raymond told them of what he saw regarding about Chieri. They never thought the girl from their childhood had some kind of dark secret she has been trying to hide.

"Chieri knew something these DES machines?" Nagisa asked.

"I knew it! I just knew she has something to hide from us!" Yuka added.

"I don't believe this..." Orine also added.

"Good thing you girls are here. We can solve two cases together. One about Chieri, and the other about the DES attack at the handshake event," Raymond told them before he went to talk to Jaeger and Kors.

"So Chieri has something to hide from us," Nagisa wondered as she and her friends looked at the DES machine.

"I don't believe this," Yuka added.

"Me, too," Orine muttered.

"Do you really want to know why Chieri is being mean to you?" Raymond asked the trio irritatingly. "If so, then you girls should start looking for clues. Nagisa, you look at the seats. Yuka, you look at the booths. Orine, are you good with machines."

"Well, I used to work at a factory at Lancastar before joining 00, so yes."

"So you should disassemble that machine Chieri took down and look for anything useful that could help us."

"Okay..."

"That Timekeeper is just as cold and serious as Chieri," Yuka whispered to Nagisa and Orine of the fact that Raymond is similar to Chieri.

The search begins. Nagisa starts searching for clues in the seats, Yuka starts searching for clues in the booths, and Orine disassembles the machine before looking for clues on it. As for Raymond, he walked near the front entrance of the place to search for clues.

"Hmm, no sign of forced entry except from above," the Timekeeper said before approaching Nagisa. "Besides Tsubasa, who else had access to the stadium?"

"Well, no one else," was the girl's reply.

"Whoever called the DES to attack the handshake event is really a sociopath."

After the search...

"Have you girls found anything?" Raymond leads the Lancastar trio together.

"I found a DES radio from one of the seats," Nagisa showed her contribution.

"I found a bomb from one of the booths," Yuka showed hers.

"I found a piece of machinery with a label on it," Orine also showed hers.

"Now, let me take a closer look."

Nagisa gives Raymond the radio as he started his search closely. He noticed something.

"Aha, looks like we got a print," he used the magnifying glass to look at the print closely which is a fingerprint.

After this, he looked at the bomb to see yellow fiber on it, and when he looked at the piece from the machine, he noticed a label which said 'Zodiac Corporation', not 'DES'.

"Orine, bring these to the evidence bags, so we can analyze them to the lab," he ordered.

"Right," Orine gets the magnifying glass from his hand, so he grabs her by the back of her shirt.

"Not the magnifying glass, you idiot!" Raymond exclaimed. "The items you and your friends found!"

"Oh, sorry," the light pink-haired girl apologized for her mistake as she gives back the item to him and gets the three items to put in the evidence bags.

"This is just like Chieri scolding her for being troubled with her hater..." Yuka commented on the moment to Nagisa. The former can tell Raymond is just like Chieri.

"Don't worry. We'll catch the criminal, and when we do, that person is going away for a good long time," Raymond vowed.

* * *

After having a look at the crime scene, Raymond and the girls went to the forensic lab by the Timekeeper station to analyze the clues.

"I got the print into the computer, sir," the Timekeeper forensic scientist said. "If he/she had contact with the police, we'll have a match."

In the analysis of whose fingerprint is left behind in the radio, the result went to Chieri Sono, and it matches.

"I knew it!" Raymond exclaimed, quickly making the accusation.

"What the?" Nagisa said in surprise with the result. Yuka and Orine are also surprised. "How is Chieri's print on the files? She's never been arrested. At least not by you anyway."

"That's what you think," the Timekeeper said. "I busted her two months ago for sneaking into an AKB concert."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. It's a good thing she didn't recognize me at the time."

"But for Chieri to be the one calling the DES to attack the handshake event. That's impossible," Orine refuses to believe the result.

"Yeah, we were watching her on the other side of our booth all afternoon before the attack happened!" Yuka also refuses to believe. "We didn't see her calling them!"

"That remains to be seen," Raymond contradicted before turning to the scientist. "What about that fiber?"

The Timekeeper forensic scientist puts the fiber into a microscope and makes his analysis.

"See for yourself," he started typing on the computer for the result. The result is that the fiber belongs to Chieri and it matches.

"You were saying, Yuka?" Raymond smirked at the result. "Her cold attitude and distancing herself from you girls really make sense for her to be the one calling the DES to attack the stadium. She is a DES spy."

"How can you accuse her of that?!" Nagisa is getting angry at such accusation he is pulling.

"Whoa, take it easy, Nagisa," the leader attempted to calm her down. "That is just strike two. Let's see if the third evidence we got really makes strike three."

He started typing on the computer between two organizations: Zodiac Corporation and DES.

"The label that Orine saw on that piece of machinery said 'Zodiac Corporation'," Raymond announced. "Speaking of that, are you three aware of Chieri's profession as heiress of Zodiac before she joined 00?"

"We saw it on the news report while we were on that ship just before AKB0048 came to our rescue," Yuka replied.

"I see. There has to be some link between the two companies."

As Raymond typed in for the results, it is stated that the Zodiac and DES matched. There is a link between them after all.

"Match," he stated. "According to this, Zodiac Corporation specializes in military arsenal fabrication. Meaning they create weapons; not just any weapons..."

He typed in more result.

"The weapons used by the DES," he said with no emotion. This causes the Lancastar trio to be surprised. "Looks like Chieri has some explaining to do since her father, who is the CEO, has been making weapons for your enemy. Strike three."

"I won't believe it. Chieri is not working for the DES!" Nagisa shouted as she won't believe in his assumption.

"I won't believe it, too!" Yuka added.

"Me, three!" Orine also added.

"But the evidence doesn't lie nor does her personality," Raymond retorted. "I don't care if you three don't believe it, but that's the truth. Chieri is not the same girl you three once knew. Not anymore. I'll give her a two-day break before I do what is necessary."

"Are you going to put her in prison?" Nagisa demanded.

"No, I got a worst punishment for her. She'll finally pay for her cold attitude towards you three, and this is going to be her comeuppance."

"I don't believe this," Orine stated. "It's not possible."

"Who do you trust? The friendly one or the unfriendly one?" Raymond asked slyly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuka asked with anger towards him.

"I'm the friendly one and Chieri is the unfriendly one. Who do you trust?"

With this question, the three have no choice but to trust him.

"See? Trust me. I'm the friendly one. Speaking of you three conflicting with trust me or that girl, why not I give you a ride back to your dormitory," Raymond suggested.

He leads the three girls to his car and takes them to a ride back to their dormitory. While he drives, Nagisa noticed a familiar picture in his car by the windshield.

"Is this Acchan?" the dark pink-haired girl asked.

"Yes, it is," Raymond tried to hide his sadness under his emotionless expression. "She was my girlfriend, you know."

"Your girlfriend?!" the girls asked with surprise.

"Yes, my girlfriend. Are you three aware of her disappearance while she was having a concert on another planet?"

"We saw it on the news while we were on our home planet, so yeah," Yuka replied.

"I see... This is why I became a Timekeeper. To prevent similar disappearances by any means necessary."

The Lancastar trio can tell Raymond looked sad when he talked about Acchan to them. He brings them to the dormitory before going for a drive on his own.


	7. Discussion

Back at their dormitory, the Lancastar trio has decided to discuss details with each other on what Raymond had told them about Chieri. The place of discussion will be in the living room, and they will sit on a table with only a candle for their light.

"Yuka, all that stuff he told us..." Nagisa started with worry on her face, especially about Chieri.

"Just be careful. Take it with a grain of salt," Orine suggested.

"But what if he said is true, then Chieri is..."

"Nagisa! I know how you feel, but be patient," Yuka cuts off her friend's sentence before she could finish it and started saying about what to do next. "For now, we need to keep what Raymond said in complete confidence between the three of us. It must stay secret. We're in the middle of training to become AKB0048 idols, and can't afford any more chaos and confusion. Besides, until we check the facts, we can't trust Raymond. There's too much we don't know about his claim that the company Chieri worked for, Zodiac Corporation, has been developing weapons for our enemy, the DES. We need to keep this quiet, especially you, Nagisa."

"Yeah, I got it," the dark pink-haired girl understood.

"Don't tell anyone, not even Chieri what we've learn from the leader of the Timekeepers. Not until we know we are certain what he is telling us is all true," her blonde-haired friend added. "You know, I finally understand why Chieri is being mean to us. To protect us from the awful truth because if we were to find out about it, she might feel we will hate her for it."

"Now that you said it, that makes sense to us," Orine added.

"Well, we know now, but we won't let this information slow us down," Nagisa said with a smile. "Let's keep going on with our lives as trainees without letting Chieri know we found out her reasons she's being mean to us."

"Let's do our best."

"Couldn't agree more," Yuka said last.

She turns off the candle as their discussion ends.


	8. Watch

The next two days, Raymond is waking up from his sleep in his apartment. He took his bath, dressed up in his Timekeeper clothes, ate his breakfast, and brushed his teeth before driving off to the Timekeeper station for work.

He arrived to the building where his fellow officers greet him a good morning before heading to his office.

Today is the day he is going to bring back Chieri to her father.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nagisa is about to be ready for another day of training to become AKB0048 idols with her friends, Yuka and Orine. Speaking of her friends, they managed to keep their discovery hidden from everyone, including Chieri. Just as they're about to go to the living room for Tsubasa about tell her announcement, the dark pink-haired girl saw her two friends are doing a research on their own by their bedroom.

"What are you guys doing?" Nagisa asked as she approached them.

"Doing research, that's what," Yuka replied while she and Orine are looking at her laptop. "We're going to do our research on the Timekeepers."

"You want to find out something about Raymond?"

"Yes. I don't trust him, especially with his conclusion regarding Chieri. Makes me feel something is up with this guy."

"I feel the same, Yuka," Orine added with worry. "Where did he get that conclusion? Why does he think she is the bad guy of the story?"

"Exactly," their blonde-haired friend confirmed. "That's why we're going to investigate him."

"But the evidence and her personality... he said they don't lie to point out she is working for the DES," Nagisa added. Even though she might not like to think that the blue-haired girl from their childhood is working for their worst enemy, she is starting to believe what he said on the last two nights, although not completely.

"Maybe so, but it doesn't make sense," Yuka contradicted. "Chieri might be the bad guy because of her cold personality, but I don't think she is working for the DES to get rid of us just because she said to see everyone as a rival."

"Now that you thought about it, it doesn't make sense. We don't see her calling them to attack the handshake event before they arrived," their light pink-haired friend added some explanation.

"You know, I believe what you two are trying to tell me," Nagisa said with a smile. "Chieri is not a DES spy, and Raymond is jumping to the wrong conclusion."

"If Chieri is not a DES spy, then who is?" Orine asked.

"Girls, I got some announcements," Tsubasa arrived at the door to call them.

"Okay, we're coming down," Yuka answered the called before turning off her laptop. She turns to Nagisa and Orine. "Remember..."

"Don't tell Chieri. Got it," Nagisa gets what she is going to say.

"Same here," Orine added last.

Then, the Lancastar trio comes out of the bedroom and went to the living room to hear Tsubasa's announcements.

* * *

In the Timekeeper station, Raymond went out of his office and head to ground floor as he watches the large screen showing Tsubasa talking to Ushiyama about bringing back the understudy system.

"Understudy, huh?" he said with no emotion. "Perhaps she is done making her announcement on who should be their understudies to replace the successors for they are going to a peace ceremony?"

"Sir," the same Timekeeper forensic scientist from the last two days has arrive with papers on his possession.

"What is it?"

"I got the papers to who are selected to be understudies to replace the successors. Look at them."

Raymond grabs the papers to see the results. Kanata will replace Takamina, Mimori will replace Kojiharu, Megumi will replace Yukirin, and Chieri will replace Yuko.

"Okay then, it's time to take her down," he said as he steps out of the station. "Also, remind me to meet Mayuyu later. There's something I must tell her about that place Tsubasa said to never enter."

He goes to his car and drives his way to the concert hall. Outside the place, he is keeping watch, hoping to get Chieri as soon as she sets foot outside. Only her from the 77th generation will work for today as the rest will be taking a day off.

This is a good opportunity for him to use to catch her.

Just then, his cellphone rings.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Sir, sorry to interrupt you from keeping an eye on Chieri, but there's something I should tell you," the scientist's voice said on the other end of the call.

"What is it?"

"Out of the 77th generation idols, only Nagisa is not going with them for karaoke."

Raymond doesn't look surprise when he heard this. He knows that she is trying to protect Chieri from him, so he will have to change his original plan.

"Looks like plans changed."

He drives back to the Timekeeper station as he goes to a female dispatcher on a few more details.

"Excuse me, dispatch. Can you try checking on reactions in the dormitory to determine who didn't took well in any of the selections?" he ordered.

"On it, sir," the dispatcher does the order as she typed on the computer and looked at the monitor for the results. "Sir, there is a girl who didn't took well of Chieri being selected as Yuko's understudy."

She showed the image of a brown-haired girl with pigtails.

"Who is she?" Raymond asked.

"Her name is Megumi Wanibuchi, and she is from the 76th generation," dispatch responded from gaining the information.

"Then bring her in to the station. I'm going to tell her and her generation about the dark secret of the girl named Chieri Sono," the leader of the Timekeepers stated as his new plan is about to start.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The chapter took place in AKB0048 episode 7.


	9. Secrets Revealed

Raymond is seen in his office waiting for the 76th generation to arrive in the station so he can talk to them about Chieri's dark secret. It's like he is tattling her to them.

He waited and waited until the girls have arrived.

"Ah, Megumi Wanibuchi, isn't it? It's good you and your friends have come to my station," he greeted them as he puts down a magazine he is reading from his desk.

"What is it you wanted to tell us about, Timekeeper...?" Megumi spoke as she and her two friends took their seats.

"Leon."

"Timekeeper Leon."

"To start this discussion, I should tell you three about the main topic, and that is Chieri Sono," the Timekeeper started speaking while putting his hands together at around mouth level.

Upon hearing the name of the person that he spoke of, the 76th generation girls look angry, especially Megumi, who is quite upset that a girl from the 77th generation is chosen to replace the 72th generation idol.

"I'm listening," Megumi agreed to listen to what the Timekeeper has to say about the girl.

"I was investigating her to find out what caused her cold personality, and I have help from Nagisa to discover it. As of now, I solved the case," the latter spoke with no emotion.

"What is it about her that you wanted to tell us?" Mizuho asked.

"I saw her surveying a giant DES machine she took down during the attack at the handshake event. She said she knew something about those machines," Raymond continued.

"That could only mean that she's..." Megumi spoke with a frightened expression.

"That's right. She is working for the DES because not only she is the heiress of Zodiac Corporation, but also her father, who is its CEO, has been making weapons they used against you," the Timekeeper concluded his story, even though he is on the wrong conclusion, but he is doing this on purpose to get the girl into trouble. "If you need proof, then here's proof."

He gives them a small diamond-shaped button, and as Megumi pressed it, she and her friends saw a holographic article named 'CEO's Daughter Missing or Kidnapped' with Chieri's picture on it. She turned to the next page, and they saw a picture of her and her father with one of the machines behind them.

"I knew it! I knew that girl is up to no good!" Megumi exclaimed with anger.

"That's what I thought of. This, along with her cold personality and isolation, really fit the profile of a DES spy," Raymond added. "So what are you going to do about this, Megumi?"

"We're going to confront her of this!" the brown-haired girl left his office and station with her two friends.

Exactly what Raymond is expecting. He only hope this plan worked. Just then, he saw a visitor coming to his office, and he knows who that is.

"Oh, it's you... Fortis."

* * *

Meanwhile, two girls are having a conversation from outside their dormitory.

"Sorry. You're working really hard to get closer to Yuko-san, aren't you?" Nagisa asked.

"Yeah," Chieri replied.

"Makes me kind of happy."

"Huh?"

"Hey, listen. Congratulations on becoming an understudy. I hadn't told you," the dark pink-haired makes her compliment to the girl beside her.

"Thank you," Chieri blushed and puts up a little smile.

Then they went back inside. Unbeknownst to them, the Timekeeper has made his move.

"Hey, let's look at my Yuko-san notes I wrote before your evening lessons, won't you?" Nagisa suggested to Chieri as soon as they got inside.

"Yuko-san notes?" the latter asked.

"Yeah, my Yuko-san summary notes."

The confrontation begins.

"Chieri..." Megumi started as she and her two friends approach the blue-haired girl. "Isn't there some kind of big secret you're hiding from everyone? Anything you want to tell us?"

"What?" the 77th generation girl asked with confusion.

"Don't play dumb with us," Hazuki countered. "We just happened to find this."

She showed the 77th generation girls of the article they found. It's a good thing they didn't mention Raymond giving this to them as proof that Chieri is hiding something.

"Chieri, you're the daughter of the Zodiac Corporation's CEO. On top of that..."

Then she turns to the next page to show them the picture of Chieri and her father with a DES machine beside them.

"Those machines..." Nagisa said sadly. Although Raymond told her of the truth already, she needed to hear it in Chieri's point of view to confirm it. She thought back on what happened on that ship when she was reunited with her. Turning back to reality, she faced Chieri, who is about to be confronted about it.

"Your family's company... makes the DES machines that attacked our concerts," Megumi said with scorn.

"It's suspicious. Really suspicious," Hazuki added her statement with scorn as well before making her accusation. "Chieri, are you a DES spy?"

"Hey, how could you accuse her of that?" Nagisa said her defense. She can't believe that she is jumping to the same conclusion as Raymond, then she realized something. _No way. Did Raymond talked to those girls about it?_

"How could I not?"

"Leave her alone!"

"It's obvious!"

Just then, Kanata came downstairs as she heard their argument.

"Kanata-senpai!" Hazuki called for her.

"What? What's going on?" the redhead asked.

"Take a look at this article."

The 76th generation girl showed her of what Raymond given her along with her friends. As Kanata looked at it, she is baffled.

"Chieri..." was all she could say.

Suddenly, Chieri runs to her room without a word.

"Wait!" Nagisa pleaded.

"If she runs away like that when her secret is out, then she is guilty as charged," Megumi added.

"How can you and Raymond think of that?! You're both wrong!"

"Raymond?" Kanata asked Nagisa about the person who revealed the secret to. "You mean the Timekeeper who came to the handshake event to humiliate Chieri?"

"Yes, that's him, no doubt," was the latter's reply.

* * *

At the Timekeeper station, Raymond is talking to the person who leads a gang back at Dayton known as the Minutemen.

"What do you want, Fortis?" he asked coldly.

"Well, is this the way you greet your old friend?" the thug asked back with a smug expression as he took a seat.

"You were my friend until you chose a different path than mine."

"Yeah, stealing time, but at least I only did that in Dayton, so we couldn't meet up. Oh, and speaking of time..."

Fortis rolled up a sleeve from his left arm to reveal something to the Timekeeper, who is not surprised at this.

"The DES revived me from the dead and removed my timer, so like you, I'm immortal," he explained.

"And why did they do that?" Raymond asked with an uncaring expression.

"Because you need some help, that's why," was the reply. "Your team alone could not take down AKB0048 with WOTA around, so the Minutemen is back to take them down instead of committing crimes including stealing time."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Well, me and my gang don't have timers anymore, and we decided to follow orders to stop entertainment because it's more fun than being criminals."

"Good."

"So, friends?"

Fortis extends his hand to the Timekeeper, who grabs it in response after thinking over the deal with him for a few seconds.

"Friends," the latter responded, then they let go of their hands from each other. "Just keep an eye on WOTA to anticipate where that idol group will be performing and stop them at any cost."

"What about you?" the gangster asked.

"I got some business I'm going to attend to for tonight."

* * *

For this afternoon, Nagisa goes to her room where she is sharing it with Chieri and Suzuko. She approached the former who is looking depressed from being confronted about her secret.

"Ever since..." Chieri begins. "Ever since we saw that concert together, I wanted to join 00, but no matter how many times I told my father I wanted to audition, he wouldn't let me."

Nagisa recalled on her mind about her father forbidding her to join 00. She and Chieri have something in common: both joined AKB0048 as a runaway because of having a father who forbids either of them to join.

"But I just couldn't give it up. I secretly went to a 00 concert one more time," the latter continued. "There was a DES attack. The machines used by the DES in the attack were made by my father's company. That's why I ran away from home when I found out about the audition here. Also, I got arrested by a Timekeeper because I went there without permission."

Nagisa realized Raymond is telling the truth of him arresting her two months ago for sneaking into an AKB concert.

"For every one else is one of you, I'm the unforgivable daughter of their unforgivable enemy, but I had to come, even though I knew I didn't belong here," Chieri concluded her tale.

Hearing the story from her made Nagisa realize Raymond is telling the truth about everything. Well, almost everything. Because she didn't mention about working for the DES, this means she is not working for them just because he said her cold personality and distancing herself from others really fit the profile of a DES spy.

She is glad that she is cleared up from his false claim.

"That's not true!" the dark pink-haired girl added. "I wanted to become a successor with you and stand on the stage together!"

"I'm sorry," her light blue-haired friend apologized and looked a little relief her feelings for her won't change. "Will you leave me alone for a while?"

Then Nagisa left their room as she decided to go to the Timekeeper station to have a conversation with Raymond about his false accusation.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : This also took place in AKB0048 episode 7.


	10. Argument

Tonight, Raymond goes to the cafeteria from his station to eat his dinner and that is beef steak. He also has has a cup of coffee as he waited for his guest to show up.

"What is it you wanted to tell me, Timekeeper Leon?" Mayuyu arrived.

"Ah, Mayuyu, it's good to see you," the leader of the Timekeepers greeted her.

"What is it you wanted to tell me about?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"Well, are you aware of the place Tsubasa told you to never enter?" he asked after taking a bite from his meal.

"Yes, what about it?" the robot girl replied.

"I want you to go there tonight with your friends to see what is Tsubasa hiding from you girls," was the order.

"Why should I do that?" Mayuyu asked with an emotionless expression for a reason.

"Because..." Raymond started to whisper on her ear to give her a reason to do such act. Then he takes a sip from his drink.

"Them I'm going to do your favor," the girl said before leaving the place.

As Raymond finishes his meal, he heads to the lobby to see Nagisa is waiting for him, and she has an angry look at her face.

"Hello there, Nagisa," he started as he approached her closely. "I knew you'd come here to talk to me."

"Yeah, I came here to talk to you," the girl confirmed his statement.

"What is it?" Raymond asked.

"Why did you tell the 76th generation of Chieri's secret?" Nagisa demanded.

"I knew you'd come to talk to me for this reason," the Timekeeper said with no emotion. "To answer your question, I wanted to make sure if I was right about her, so what happened?"

"Chieri ran away to our room when the girls confronted her about what you told them," Nagisa replied.

"I was right about her all along," Raymond commented.

"No, you're wrong!"

"You better wake up and smell your friend, or rather ex-friend. I'll give you a reward if you turn her in."

"I'm not turning her in," Nagisa argued.

"Maybe you can convince her to turn herself in," Raymond said with a smug expression.

"Will you get through your useless head?" the girl contradicted. "Chieri is not a DES spy!"

"I'll ask dispatch for this," the Timekeeper turns to dispatch. "Dispatch, when someone has a cold personality, isolates oneself from others, and has connections to Zodiac Corporation, is that person a spy for the DES?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so, sir," dispatch said her reply, infuriating Nagisa further.

"See?" Raymond stated.

"She is not a criminal!" the girl exclaimed her defense.

"I know. She's a spy," the leader argued back firmly.

"Will you stop it?" Nagisa looks frustrated. "I know Chieri is being mean to us in the past few days, but there's no way she's calling the DES behind our backs. Therefore, she is not a DES spy."

"But her fingerprint is on that radio."

"And maybe someone put it there to make it look like she did it."

After thinking for a few seconds, Raymond pulls out a notebook and pen.

"Maybe you're right, Nagisa," he stated while writing. "Except for one thing."

"What's that?" the girl asked.

"Chieri ran away when her secret is exposed, so she is guilty as charged."

Nagisa is getting frustrated at this point. She can't believe how incompetent the Timekeepers are, especially with their leader believing the girl from her childhood four years ago came to be the culprit of the DES attack at the handshake event, despite the flimsy evidence.

"I can't believe you have become friends with the girl who is AKB0048's worst enemy," Raymond added.

"I can't believe you are useless as a law officer," Nagisa retorted.

Raymond pushes a button from a remote control to show her something from the big screen. It's about what he saw on the ship that gave him a clue to talk to her. "Ironic, isn't it? Chieri told you to go home when you were reunited her, but in reality, she is the one who should be going home."

"I'm going back to the dormitory," Nagisa walks out of the Timekeeper station with frustration on her face as she gives up convincing him of his wrong assumption. "You are an officer of the law, yet you are chasing the wrong suspect!"


	11. Arrest

Back at the dormitory, Chieri is seen in her room packing all her things in a briefcase. With her dark secret being exposed, she is planning to leave AKB0048 because she feels she doesn't belong there due to her being connected to Zodiac Corporation as its heiress since the company makes weapons for the DES.

This is exactly what Raymond wants her to do. In fact, this is his alternative plan when Nagisa is planning to stay in her dormitory to defend her from him. Instead of apprehending her, he will have her come to him to take her back to her father by telling her secret to Megumi and her friends in order to get them to confront her about it so that she will have a reason to leave the idol group.

Kanata enters her room from behind.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Chieri apologized. "I hadn't told you until now."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I auditioned for 00 without telling anyone about my father's profession. I have no right to be here."

"Your father's got nothing to do with this! My father was killed by the DES when I was a child."

Chieri gasps as she took on this information.

"I joined 00 to avenge my father. Chieri, do you remember what you said?" Kanata asked.

 _"I don't know anything. That's why I need my seniors to keep their act together."_

"That moment opened my eyes. I tried to act cool, talking about avenging my father, but it's not my only reason anymore. I want more than anything to become a successor."

"Kanata-san..." Chieri faced the girl regarding on her reason for wanting to join AKB0048.

"Your father doesn't have anything to do with your desire to make your dream come true, does he?" Kanata approached her closely, and upon saying this statement, Chieri started to have tears coming out of her eyes. "That's why we haven't said anything until now."

Suddenly, she puts her hands on her eyes as more tears came bursting out.

"That's a surprise? You cry just like a little girl, Chieri," Kanata said with a smile on her face. She puts her hand on her head. "Honestly, I have my hands full babysitting Sonata already. I'm in no place to tell someone not to blame themselves or take everything on alone, but let's both stop doing that. Come here."

She holds Chieri closely to her chest and let her cry it all out.

"Look, we have friends now who will share our happiness and sadness, so you won't ever have to cry alone anymore."

"Friends...?" was all Chieri could say.

Just then, Nagisa comes to the room.

"Chieri, I wanted to..." she realized they are in a moment and she's interrupting them so she turned away from behind. "Uh, I'm really sorry for interrupting your make out session!"

"You idiot. Don't get the wrong idea. See what I mean?" Kanata said in reassurance, then she and Chieri shared a laugh together, and Nagisa looked at them with confusion.

"So someone is opening up," a voice said and Nagisa looked to see Raymond behind her. As for his line, he is referring to Chieri opening up to her fellow idols like Nagisa and Kanata.

He looked at the Chieri's briefcase and Kanata to realize his Plan B has failed. Now he has to change his plans again, so it's time for Plan C.

"Aren't you that Timekeeper from the handshake event?" the redhead recognized him as she and Chieri looked at him.

"Yes, I'm Timekeeper Raymond Leon," Raymond introduced himself once again. "You must be Kanata Shinonome, right?"

"Yes. What's this about?"

"Like Nagisa here, I'm really sorry if I interrupted you, Kanata. I just need a word with your friend."

"My friend?" Kanata realized he wants to talk to Chieri.

"Raymond, don't you think that's...?" Nagisa attempted to stop him due to being aware of his plans to arrest Chieri for her alleged crime.

"This is important to my case, Nagisa, so don't interrupt me unless you want me to have a word with you as well," Raymond threatened her.

"Wait. You want to talk to Chieri? Okay, you can talk to her," Kanata reluctantly agreed to his suggestion.

"Wise decision."

"You want me to accompany her?" Nagisa suggested in order to make another attempt to stop the leader of the Timekeepers from doing what she thought he would do to her friend.

"Not necessarily. I have my Timekeepers do that."

Raymond is not alone; he has bought his fellow Timekeepers with him in case Kanata and Nagisa would try to foil his plan of bringing Chieri to justice. Jaeger and Kors come to the room to grab Chieri and haul her roughly from the room. Raymond looked at Nagisa coldly for a brief time before going to where his men are taking her friend to.

"You know, Nagisa, I don't trust that Timekeeper," Kanata expressed her opinion about him. Then, she questioned the girl next to her. "So, how are things doing between you two?"

* * *

Raymond and his Timekeepers place Chieri in Tsubasa's study to question her about the 'crime' he thought she committed. He postponed her arrest to get a motive from her in joining AKB0048. This is going to be just like when he interrogated Will at Philippe Weis' study, but the positions are going to be different. In fact, Chieri will be sitting on a chair in front of the desk, while Raymond will be sitting by the desk as if he will be her judge, jury, and executioner, but he has Timekeepers on each corner to surround her with. Jaeger and Kors left the room with a few Timekeepers to keep an eye out for things.

"Before we get started, Chieri, there's something you must know," the Timekeeper said with his usual stoic expression. "Our first meeting at the handshake event two days ago wasn't our first meeting."

"Really?" the light blue-haired girl is surprised to hear this.

"Yes, we met two months ago when you were sneaking into that concert and I arrested you."

That's when Chieri discovered something about Raymond.

"It was you!" she exclaimed. "You're that Timekeeper who arrested me back then!"

"That's right," he replied calmly.

He recalled on seeing her on that fateful day two months ago and arresting her for sneaking into the concert without her father's permission. At that time, he was wearing plainclothes and a cap, so she doesn't recognize him at the time.

"So, we meet again for the third time, Chieri, since we met at the handshake event for the second time," Raymond stated. "I got some questions for you."

"Questions? What about?" Chieri wondered about the subject.

"It's about a case I'm working on two days ago when the DES attacked the handshake event here at Akibastar. Perhaps you know something about it?"

Chieri started to get nervous when he hears this. She is afraid that he might jump into the wrong conclusion as Megumi and her friends thought of her as, even though she is unaware he is already in the wrong conclusion. Raymond can tell she is nervous from what he might suspect of her as.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"Are you aware Akibastar is not affected by the Entertainment Ban?" Raymond started asking while putting his hands together at around mouth level.

"Yes, I am aware of it," Chieri replied and it is the truth.

"I see..." Raymond said, pausing for a long while. He continues asking the next question. "Why did you join AKB0048?"

"It's not illegal, is it? To join that group?" Chieri asked while trying to hide her nervousness, although he can see it.

"No, it's not illegal. It's just... rare," the Timekeeper said. "You were on that ship when the DES attacked. How did you get there?"

"I got a friend to help me out," was her reply.

"Is that so?" the Timekeeper looked at her disbelievingly. He is aware that outside of Lancastar, the planet she befriended Nagisa, Yuka, and Orine, she never made friends with anyone in her home planet, Sagittariusstar.

"No," his suspect admitted the truth. "I was by myself when I got on that ship."

"I see... Where did you get the idea that 00 is a competition with all of your teammates?" Raymond asked.

"Do you really want to know the answer? It's complicated," Chieri can't find an answer to the question.

"I am the law, so it's my duty to know."

"When I was with Nagisa, Yuka, and Orine four years ago at Lancastar watching that concert, we saw DES soldiers trying to attack the idols. We all thought that was part of their show until I discovered the soldiers are trying to attack them for real. I found out they're doing this because of the Entertainment Ban. Nagisa, Yuka, and Orine don't know this, so I thought of thinking everyone as a rival would be the best idea to ensure they don't hurt themselves."

"And why can't you tell them about this? Aren't they your friends even though you're not from their planet?" Raymond asked the next questions.

"Like I said, it's complicated," Chieri replied.

"Let me ask you something, Chieri. Aren't you the one who should be going home?"

She looks perplexed when he asked her this question. In fact, she unknowingly ruined his alternate plan to get her to go back to her home planet.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"I saw your briefcase when I arrived, and it looked you're planning to stay instead of leaving. What made you change your mind?" Raymond asked the question that get her to incriminate herself.

Before she could answer, her cellphone started ringing and she takes it out from her skirt pocket on her right.

"Too bad you won't get distracted by this cellphone call anytime soon," Raymond stands up from his seat to take the item away from her. He knows fully well Nagisa and Kanata are trying to warn her of his true intentions. Once he turns it on, he hung up the call before taking his seat to the desk once again. "Now, answer the question."

"I was going to leave AKB0048 because the secret of where the DES got their weapons from is exposed. They got it from Zodiac Corportation, the company that my father owns and I'm its heiress. I feel like I don't deserve to be there, so I wanted to run away again and go home. It's ironic, isn't it? Me, telling Nagisa to go home when we reunited because we promised to join AKB0048 together when we were kids, but in reality, I'm the one who should be going home, not her."

"Yeah, I noticed. I told Nagisa about it when she came to my station. I told her about you telling her to go home, when it is really you who should be going home."

"I see..."

"Why can't you just tell her and her two friends about that reason why you're being mean to them? Don't you trust them?"

"You don't understand. They don't understand."

"Oh, I understand," Raymond smirked as he caught Chieri to his trap. "I think Nagisa, Yuka, and Orine will understand."

Next, he stands up from his seat and opens the door, revealing Nagisa and Kanata are being restrained by two Timekeepers.

"I knew they'd be eavesdropping," he commented.

Chieri realized that she has become his target.

"Raymond, what is the meaning of this?" she demanded with fear on her face while standing up from her seat.

"I got one last question I needed for you to answer," her enemy stated coldly with his arms crossed. "After the DES retreat from their attack at the handshake event, what were you doing?"

"I-I was just... gathering my thoughts," Chieri replied, although with fear which he can see that. She's also sweating and that convinced him of her guilt.

"Is that so?" Raymond doesn't believe her answer. "Then why were you surveying that giant DES machine you took down and saying about you knew something about it?"

Chieri looks shocked when he asked her this question as if this information pierced her heart. She made sure no one would ever found out about the third reason for her cold personality, but unbeknownst to her, the Timekeeper investigating her had caught sight of what she was doing on the last two days. This is the clue he needed to obtain to confirm that she had something to hide, and as of now, he revealed to her his knowledge of this information.

"You saw what I was doing?" she asked with shock.

"Yes, I did. Now, I know what is going on with you. By the way, I told Nagisa, Yuka, and Orine about it. It's over, Chieri. Because of your cold personality, your isolation from others, and your connection to Zodiac Corporation, you are the main suspect for this crime," Raymond commented.

"Me, a suspect? This is impossible!" the light blue-haired girl said with fear. "You have no evidence!"

"Sir, look what I found under Chieri's briefcase," Jaeger, along with Kors, shows up with a DES radio on his hand. Of course, he is wearing gloves when he touched it to avoid getting his prints on the item. He hands the item to Kors, who started dusting it for any prints.

"You were saying, Chieri?" Raymond turned to her with a stare.

"That isn't my radio! I'm being set-up!" Chieri pleaded her innocence.

"Then why is your fingerprint on it, girl?" Kors countered as he grabbed her wrist to put her index finger there as confirmation.

"What the...?"

"Anything else you found?" Raymond asked his men as one of them release the girl's wrist.

"I found the clothes she wore on the handshake event," Kors added and revealed the clothes he hold by his hands.

His boss took one fiber from the yellow shirt and pulls out the evidence bag with the fiber found on the crime scene to make the match.

"This fiber matches the one found in the crime scene! Chieri Sono, you're under arrest for treason against AKB0048," Raymond concluded as he puts the handcuffs on her hands from behind.

"This is absurd! You got the wrong suspect!" Chieri protested.

"But all the evidence points to you, and they don't lie. You're finally going to pay for being mean to Nagisa and the others."

Nagisa and Kanata have nothing to do except watch their friend being hauled to Raymond's car for the crime she didn't even committed. Raymond drives to the Timekeeper station and proceeds to drag her to a prison cell where it has unbreakable glass to negate any escape attempts. He even has her Kirara imprisoned at a small cage separately from her with the same bars to prevent its escape and places it to the lab to be examined.

He walked to the lobby to make a call to Mr. Sono.

"Mr. Sono..." he called from his cellphone. "I got your daughter in custody."

"Excellent, Raymond. Now I'll send a safe transport to pick her up tomorrow night," the voice said on the other end.

"Good."

As he ends his call, Raymond has won this round for tonight.


End file.
